New World
by Sykoe AnimeCrasherz
Summary: [AU] Hinata and her family [sister, father] are starting a new life by moving across the sea, but the life she was promised doesn't look good at all... until she meets a certain dark haired sailor. [eventual sasuhina]
1. The Voyage

**AnimeCrasherz**: A new SasuHina idea that I got while reading +Anima. It centers on the few Naruto characters that appear here –mostly about Hinata and Sasuke- and if you've read _Witch Child _you can see a little bit of the events and elements of that story here, too.

It's sort of based on the story of some of the first pilgrims going to America, but without Indians and _with_ a bit of fantasy. Oh yeah, and in this story Itachi doesn't kill Sasuke's family. He might as well not exist. Sasuke's entire family died of some illness.

**This counts for the entire fic: I do not own Naruto or Witch Child. **

**Now Enjoy!**

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**Adventure 1: The Voyage **

That day, my father could have told me that we were going to go live with the elven people and I would have been just as surprised.

Ever since the passing of my mother I had known that my father wanted to get away. He had wanted to move to a new house, a new village. There were too many memories here, the memories of my mother's life, her death, the death of her stillborn son...

But America? My father wanted to take Hanabi and I to _America? _

Most knew little of the new world, and I knew even less than they. It was a hotter place than here, I heard, pure wilderness inhabited by savages. Why would my father want to go there? I would never understand. But for now, I credited his decision half on the senility I was sure was taking over his mind now, half on the desperation to start a new life, for him and Hanabi and I, before he lost the one he lived now.

That night after we heard the news, my sister and I lay awake in the bed we shared, whispering out of fear of waking father.

"I'm scared, sister." Hanabi's voice trembled and was hoarse as she spoke. "What if we do not live?What if we don't survive the voyage, or if we get there then what if we don't survive the winter, or worse, what if it is true what they say about the savages-"

"Shh! Don't speak that way!" I had to quiet her down, she was scaring me too. "We have God, and we have eachother, and that's all we need. Besides, what have we got to lose? This life is barely one to keep."

"You're right..." she said, and yawned. She still seemed doubtful, but there would always be fear.

"Good, now go to sleep. We have to rise early tomorrow."

But she was already slumbering away, her dreams in a land somewhere else. I dreamt that night too, not about shipwrecks and savages, but of loneliness and the plague of tragedy that followed the Hyuuga name wherever it went.

* * *

When we awoke the next day, a carriage waited outside, ready to take us to the coast where the ship that would sail us to our new life awaited. 

The morning was foggy and chilly, causing Hanabi and I to shiver in the darkness outside of our house. We walked briskly to the carriage, carrying what little belongings we could pack in the bags we took with us. When we entered the carriage and sat as it began to move forward, there was an uneasiness in the air that made me want to disappear right then.

I looked out the window at the seemingly black forest, the virdency dense and tall. As the carriage rumbled I bounced slightly in my seat. The slight shaking was hypnotism. Soon, my sister and I were under the spell of the cold, early morning and the uneven road, and we had fallen asleep.

I felt the carriage come to a stop, and that must have awoken me. As we stepped out of the carriage I immediately recognized the salty mist in the air and the smell of dead fish. I looked up, and saw that it was noticeably lighter; we must have slept for hours. We were here.

My shyness caused me to stick close to my father and younger sister, so close that I almost hid behind them. I watched them hand off their luggage, and I followed. I continued to follow very closely behind them as they walked up to the enormous piece of wood that lead up to the deck of the towering ship.

My eyes roamed over the tall masts, the white sails and the men that shouted, ran, and jumped around obeying the captains orders. But there was no time to stand there and gawk, Father and Hanabi had already begun walking up towards the ship. Hurrying over to them, I continued to stare at the things going on the ship.

As I looked around, a certain sailor caught my eye. He had ebony hair, and shone with a blue sheen in the sunlight. His eyes were darker than his hair, black coals set in the unusual white of his skin. He seemed more serious than the other sailors, not laughing and joking. And the happy skip in his step was missing, unlike the other sailors, too.

I saw a few more people, a lazy seeming sailor with a black ponytail, and a cute blonde one whose bright cerulean eyes caugh mine for a second so that I blushed crimson and looked away.

And that was the last I saw as my family and I disappeared belowdecks, to the space that we would be squeezed into for the entire voyage.

There was no turning back now.

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**AnimeCrasherz:** Setting up the new story! 

Like I _always_ have to ask, should I continue this?

**What did you think? Review and I write! Please and thank you!**


	2. Hell On A Ship

**AnimeCrasherz:** I'm glad that those of you who liked it, liked it.

I'll try to update 'Is Anyone There?' on Mondays and 'New World' on Wednesday, and then when more people like them and REVIEW then I'll try to update even faster.

Thank you, and enjoy!

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**Adventure 2, Hell On A Ship**

The space belowdecks where we and other families would travel seemed huge at first. But then, when people began to file in and take their own little place where they would live, it became smaller and smaller. Soon, there was no free room or privacy.

I felt unwelcomed and alone. Our family's little place was right next to another family, the Yamanakas. They were a group of very loud blondes. Their young daughter, Ino, was a pretty girl, and she was smart on top of that, but she existed for nothing but chasing the sailors. Her long golden hair and light sky blue eyes made her very appealing, but I believe many wouldn't fall for her personality. Judging by the way she flaunts herself in front of the boys though... I doubt they pay attention to that.

Ino was usually seen with a couple of other girls. Sometimes though, it was just her and another girl Sakura. They were always gossiping and giggling. All they did was sit around and talk about nonsense, sometimes going abovedecks to flirt with the sailors.

One time I caught them looking at me, and I couldn't tell if they wanted to come talk to me, or talk _about_ me. But I ignored it, and tried only to focus on something other than the growing stink in this room we were all cooped up in.

Can you imagine the smell of people not bathing for days, having to live and go to the bathroom in this room that wouldn't be cleaned until we arrived?

It was too much for me sometimes. Sometimes I followed my sister up to the deck that smelled of ocean spray, where the air was cool and fresh. The rare times that we went up there we leaned over the edge of the ship, looking out at the indigo colored sea that turned emerald the farther you looked. Once, we saw whales, a group of black specks breaching far out into the sea. We heard the sailors shout to eachother and saw them point, and ran to the other side of the boat to catch the wondrous sight.

Well, wondrous to us. We had always lived in the freezing, dark, English forests. This world was alien to my sister and I.

And my father? He stayed below in the room that could pass for a prison. He was gripped with seasickness, and he was an old and tired man. Bitter, too. Most people steered clear of Father, leaving us to care for him. That is why I enjoyed the little spare time I got abovedecks.

After being on the ship for a while, I gained the bravery to go abovedecks without Hanabi.

Which meant I was_ alone_.

I was still probably the shyest person on board, but I'd do anything to escape the dank, musty room with the stench of disease lingering in the air.

So I stood with my elbows on the railing, letting the ocean spray cool my face and neck and the wind whip my short dark hair around. The air was fresh and cool, and even though it smelled of seawater it seemed almost sweet after spending another night in the room below.

When I stood up to tuck my hair behind my ear, I noticed some people not too far from me.

It was the quiet dark haired sailor next to the cheerful, spirited blonde one. They were leaning on the railing, taking a break to look at the sea.

My mind and heart raced for some reason. I had made no friends yet, those girls didn't appeal to me at all and there barely wasn't anybody else my age that I could talk to. But... go up and talk to them... to sailors? Did I even have the bravery?

"Oy!" I heard the blonde haired one shout, and I prayed it wasn't to me. "OY!" he yelled louder and began to wave his arms. This time it was unmistakable. He walked up to me, and his friend followed. They looked funny together, the blonde one's skin was dark tan from working in the sun, and he walked happily, almost skipping, and stood with an upright posture. The dark haired one was much, much paler, almost more than me, and he walked with a serious expression.

"G-g-good afternoon..." it was torture to look into the blonde one's gorgeous eyes, I could feel the red burn in my cheeks, and my shyness just short of forced me to look away.

"Nice day out, huh?" he laughed, and leaned so far out towards the water that I was scared he would fall.

"Yes, b-b-b-beautiful."

"You have a speech impediment, don't you?" he asked, which caused my eyes to widen in embarrassment, "Or maybe you're just real shy, but I don't see why 'cuz frankly you're pretty cute!"

_Me, cute? My father would say that I'm plain at best. I'm a scrawny, pale little pile of twigs with a head of short choppy hair, and I have strange eyes._ To be called "cute" by this boy made me feel like floating for a while.

"You talk too much." the dark haired one commented, and the blonde haired one was about to say something back when somebody shouted to him.

"Oy, Naruto, captain wants to see you!" the man shouted, causing Naruto to whine about having no free time and all of the "hot girls" that he could "apparently be dating" now.

_So his name's Naruto..._ I smiled in secret. Until, I realized that the dark haired sailor was still standing next to me.

"H-H-Hi..." I mumbled to him, earning a quiet 'hn'. "Wh-what's you n-name?"

"Sasuke." was all he said before another man came to yell at him about not being paid to flirt with wenches. (almost a straight line from 'witch child' i know, but the first few chapters are gonna have a LOT of resemblance to it. me sorry.)

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That night in my family's space belowdecks, I heard the gossiping girls talking about the sailors that they had seen and/or flirted with. Sitting around being quiet and listening to others conversations can be interesting, and you can learn a lot. I didn't hear anything significant, though, I noticed that they didn't mention Naruto.

But a person I _did_ hear them talking a lot about was Sasuke. Although, they didn't use his name. They just talked about how dark and mysterious he was, and how incredibly _handsome_. And, how none of them could ever get to talk to him because he was always busy or quiet.

_Maybe he avoids them on purpose..._ I laughed inside my mind.

"I wonder what his name is..." one sighed dreamily.

"Sasuke..." I mumbled the word before I realized what I was saying.

"What?" Ino said in a snooty tone, turning to me.

"Ah! Hi-His name, it's S-S-Sasuke..." my voice trailed of towards the end, I could feel their group glare.

"And how would you know?" she retorted, and I could feel the sting of the harshness in her voice. She sounded a little jealous, too, but I wasn't sure. Then, I thought I heard her cough out the word harlett. (sp?)

But I pretending not to hear it or the horrible things that I was sure they were saying about me now.

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So the ship is hell, and Hinata is alone-a-lonely! Now since I feel like writing about other characters to get my mind going, let's check in on how Naruto and another sailor, named Kiba, (who I'm sure you all know) are doing!

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"Got any threes?"

"Go fish."

There was a grumble, then a dark haired sailor named Kiba reached over and took a card out of the pile in the middle of the dark litle room. Naruto and Kiba had hidden in this unused little janitor's closet to take a little break.

"Damn, Boss never gives us any free time!" Naruto whined.

"Chyeah." Kiba agreed.

"I mean, look at all of those pretty girls that I could have wrapped around my fingers!"

"Pshht..._ right_." Kiba laughed.

"Yeah! Have you seen the way that Sakura wench looks at me?" Naruto said, and this time Kiba shut up and let Naruto have his own little fantasies.

"Don't worry, when we get out of here we'll have all of the romances we want!" Kiba said.

"Really?" Naruto looked at him like a lost puppy. It's hard to be stuck on a ship with all men for years, then when girls finally come aboard you only get to look at them covered in all of that dreary clothes.

"Really." Kiba assured him.

_Unknown to them, a sailor was outside listening to their seemingly gay conversation..._

"Hey, I just remembered, look what I got!" Naruto said, and pulled out a shilling that had been paid to him by the captain.

"Oh yeah? Well, mine's bigger!" Kiba shouted, pulling out a larger shilling. "_And_, mine's rounder! Look at yours, all crappy and ugly!"

"Well... Well... mine's shinier!"

_The sailor outside walked away, disturbed._

**THE END OF MY CRAPPY, DIRTY HUMOR. : )**

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AnimeCrasherz: I guess you can say that most of this is sort of Hinata's diary.**

And... it's not NaruHina, although it might seem like it.

Hope you liked it!

PLEASE REVIEW! It takes just ONE minute. Come on.

I guess you can say that most of this is sort of Hinata's diary. 


	3. Life

**AnimeCrasherz**: It's really really really really long for me! Well, maybe not for you... but for me! YAY!

And anyway, enjoy!

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**Aventure 3, Life**

Who knew that the life of a pilgrim could be so bad?

So many ailments existed just on this ship! It seemed now that everyone was sick, or hated each other.

I sat in a the quiet little unused janitors' closet that I had found to be alone with my thoughts and be able to have a quiet place to enjoy my time away from the hell below.

When I stepped out of the closet onto the deck with the sky above me, I noticed the dark clouds rolling in. Instantly my heart began to hammer in my chest. Even if I was just an English village girl, I knew that dark clouds couldn't be good.

I walked out to the edge of the ship and looked out. The threatening, angry clouds seemed to have no end. They stretched vastly over one-half of the sky, while the other, light, happy peaceful blue side was being eaten up.

My hands trembled as they gripped the railing so hard my knuckles turned bone-white. I was sure my face didn't look any better.

"Storm's coming." Sasuke observed, coming up to stand next to me.

"Is… i-i-is that b… bad_?" Would we die before reaching land? Would our ship and bodies be swallowed by the angry sea, never to be found, just to be remembered as the pilgrims who didn't make it?_

"Well... only time can tell." He said stoically. Then, reffering to the ship, "I hope she can take it..."

Suddenly, there was a thunderclap and the rain started splattering down. The clouds seemed to rip open and dump out all of the water they were carrying.

The fear must have shone in my eyes, and Sasuke shouted for me to go back below. He ran off to help the other sailors, while I ran down to cower with my family.

I shuddered and huddled with Father and sister in the rom below, listening to the muffled pounding of footsteps abovedeck. The rain fell in sheets, tormenting the poor ship and being swallowed up by the furious waves.

I groped around madly for something to ho.d on to, but everything was loose. It was like this was no longer a ship, but a little toy boat being tossed around aththe mercy of the churning sea.

Nobody was making a sound. The absence of their voices and movements was replaced by the crashing waves and howling wind.

But, just as I had begun to lose hope of escaping God's wrath, the storm began to quiet down. After many hours, the violent lurching of the ship had slowed to a steady rocking, whose familiarity I welcomed. For once I cherised it.

After the assurance of the captain that all was safe, most people drifted off to sleep. I heard some people speaking about being 'blown off course', but their voices became nothing but a troubled garble as exhaustion gripped my mind and body and pulled me under the surface of unconsciousness.

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When I came to, the air was heavy with the sweet lingering smell of vomit. Surprisingly, I was one of the first ones up, and I seized the opportunity to be alone out of the room. The stuffiness made me gag, so I was filled with relief at the crisp morning. 

My relief was short lived though, when I realized how cold it was outside. The sky was still a smooth morning grey-periwinkle color, glowing softly. It glowed brighter in the east, a teal blue mixed in with the yellow of the rising sun. There was a cold, biting breeze blowing.

I tried to tuck my hair behind my ear, with no avail. It had grown longer during my time on the ship, from only to my ears all the way down to my shou.lders. My bangs still weren't long enough to tuck behind my ears though, and it annoyed me. Very much. I'd have to cut them soon.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps. _Who else could be up so early?_

It was a dark-haired sailor. No, not that one. A different one. This one had strange red markings on his cheeks, and his black eyes were somehow not as piercing as Sasuke's.

"Morning!" he greeted. "I didn't know anybody else liked getting up at 4 in the mroning!"

"Ah! I-I don't." I stammered. This boy reminded me much of Naruto.

"What was that?" he cocked his head to the side, and the little dog on his head had to hold on for dear life. The whole image was adorable.

"Uh, g-good morning." I mumbled louder.

"That was a wicked storm last night." he said. His little dog barked as if in agreement.

"It... It was very fr-frightening." I recalled the violent shaking of the ship.

"Been through worse, eh Akamaru?" the little dog barked, then gave a quiet whine. "Yep. I remember this one time there ws this huge storm -boat almost frickin' flipped over- and then suddenly we heard this sick thud. I was the first one to check out what happened, though I wish I hadn't been, and you know what I found?" he barely paused, and answered his own question before I got a chance to. "Someone had fallen from aloft! His arm was broken, and his neck was twisted at this ugly angle. There was blood everywhere. Some folks say his spirit haunts the boat now, some folks say the boat was haunted to begin with. Lucky I don't work there anymore, I heard this one story-"

He noticed the pallid color of my blood-drained face, and quickly apologized.

"Aw, geez, I'm sorry! I didn't realize it bothered you so much. Guess I got carried away..." he grinned sheepishly.

"It's okay! I just get scared easily, is all." I nervously assured him.

"Name's Kiba. And this here's Akamaru." he held out his hand, and his little dog barked.

"Uh, p-pleased to meet you." I shook his hand. "M-My name's Hinata." we shook hands for a moment. "Uh, Kiba?" I asked. "How long do you suppose it'll be before we reach land?"

"About... two weeks or so, I'd say. We're really close." he paused in contemplation. "Yep. Well, I've gots to get going, everybody'll be getting up soon."

"O-Okay." I said." I-I guess I have to be going back down, anyways..."

"Nice meeting you!" he waved, walking off.

I smiled faintly, and waved back.

Making friends was funner -and easier- than I thought.

Later that day, I stood at the railing looking out at the sea with my sister. We were talking about random things, mostly life on the ship.

"There is much talk about you, sister." she smiled mischievously up at me.

"Wh-what? Me?"

"A young lady, nearing womanhood, who keeps to herself. She has no friends, except for the sailors she spends all her time with. And to top it all off, she has the strangest eyes..."

"Hanabi! You and Father share my eyes!" I turned away, trying to hide my strange, pupiless orbs. "Besides, I do NOT spend all my time with the sailors!"

"No?" she giggled "Have you forgotten that time you beat them at poker?"

I smiled at the memory. That was the day I had met somebody else in my supposedly unused janitors' closet...

_I'd been sneaking around the corners of the ship, careful to keep unseen, so that nobody knew or followed me._

_But when I had creaked open the door, I was faced with three men playing poker._

_"Ah! E-Excuse me!" I stuttered loudly, and began to shut the door._

_One of the sailor men grabbed it, the one that, once I saw him, I recognized as Naruto. _

_"Come play with us!" he said._

_"I-I shouldn't!"  
"We could really use another player..." he pouted, and this time I couldn't say no._

_"Oh... fine..." I said, plopping down on the ground and smoothing my skirts. Should I really be here? "So, uh, what game is this?" I asked._

_"Poker!" Naruto said, then noticing the confused look on my face, "What, you don't know how to play poker?"_

_I shook my head sadly._

_"Here, let Shikamaru explain to you." he pointed to a slouching, tired-looking sailor with a ponytail. "By the way, that's Shikamaru."_

_I waved just a little, and Shikamaru explained the rules to me._

_"You get it?" he asked, handing me some cards._

_"Uh, I-I think so.." I said, slowly. _

_"Can we play now?" Naruto asked, getting impatient. Sasuke nodded in agreement._

_The game went on and ended sort of like this: Naruto lost -badly-, then Sasuke, then me and Shikamaru were tied in our winnings, much to everyone's shock._

_They didn't invite me to play poker with them after that..._

I frowned when I remembered what happened after that.

_When I walked out of the closet with behind Shikamaru, Naruto, and Sasuke with five whole dollars in my hand, Sakura and Ino had been out looking for Sasuke. They would have spread and ugly rumor about me being a whore, had Hanabi not threatened to bash their faces in and rip out their pretty little throats with her bare hands._

"I am not a whore and you know it, Hanabi!" I said, horribly faking anger, ruining my tone with a smile.

"I know, sister, but you MUSt make more friends and stop being seen with sailors, lest tongues wag even more."  
"Okay." I said. I loved my little sister, she was smart and strong for her age. She resembled father more than I, and I was sure she was his favorite, but I loved them both dearly.

I felt a presence behind me. It was Sasuke.

"Hello!" I smiled. I was used to him by now.

"Well, I must go now." Hanabi said. "Remember what I told you." she walked away.

"Is that your sister?" Sasuke asked, walking up beside me.

"Yes, my cute little sister." I smiled at her back. Then I remembered, "You know," I said, "There have been rumors."

"Rumors?"

"Yes. People say that I have been spending too much time with the sailors, i-if you know what they mean." What _did_ they mean? Surely not that serious...

"It's thse jealous wenches, I bet." he smiled. His smile made his constantly frowning face brighten up, and I wish he smiled more often.

"Yes. I will be glad when we arrive in America and we will probably never see them again." I laughed. "Will you be glad."

"No."

"No? Why not?"

"I am hardly ever glad." he said simply.

"Hm..." I knew not to question him further, he was rarely the talkative type when it came to certain things.

"Ah, one thing I've been wondering. What will you do when we all get to America?" Would he and the other men be staying on teh ship, continuing life as traveling, trading sailors? I couldn't imagine not ever talking to him, or Naruto, or even Kiba or Shikamaru again.

"Actually, there's an uncle and aunt in America I'm going to live with." he said.

"Oh. What happened to your other family?" I asked.

"I'd rather not talk about it." he said.

So I left it at that. I waved goodbye to him, then waved goobye to Naruto, Kiba, and Shikamaru as they passed me by.

I didn't know that was the last time I'd see Sasuke until our arrival at America, or the last time I'd see Naruto, Kiba, or Shikamaru ever again.

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**AnimeCrasherz:** I know, I know, they don't talk like Old English people or sailors, they talk like stupid teenagers. Please, bear with me, I'm not that good at writing accents... 

You like the chapter? Yes? No?

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	4. The New World

**AnimeCrasherz:** I didn't know this story would be liked so much... wow...

...wow...

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**Adventure 4, The New World**

I hadn't met a lot of people on the ship. I was a natural loner, shy, and happy just being alone. (A/N: Or with a couple of sailors... haha...)

Now that's not to say that my sister or Father hadn't met anybody.

You already know the Yamanakas were only one of the families next to us. There was a wall behind our space, the Yamanakas to our right, a rather, should I say,_ fat_ family of Akimichis in front of us, and there was another family to our left that proved to be very kind and friendly. They were the Brown family, (Which will now be Tenten's last name) and the mother, Goodwife Brown, was with child. She was due very soon, about seven months into her pregnancy. There was only one other person on this ship that had The Skill of being a midwife, other than me. I had only learned a little bit of it from my grandmother, and I wasn't very confident in it, but it would have to do if Goodwife Brown gave birth on the ship.

Their Brown family's young daughter Tenten was sixteen, one year older than me, and she had chocolate-colored eyes and long hair that she usually kept in two buns. But even though she was my age, it wasn't me who had befriended her first. It was Hanabi. Her and Tenten both turned out to be smart girls and tomboys, and they had much in common. Sharing knowledge, memories of asskicking, learning and teaching moves... things I would never understand. But they _lurved_ it.

Anyway, one day I was sitting in the room below. Father had heard the rumors about me being a cheap harlot (sister would use all of the new fighting moves she learned from Tenten on Sakura and Ino for that) and had forbidden me to go above deck until the rumors stopped.

There was really nothing to do below deck, sometimes I helped Goodwife Brown or Goodwife Akimichi with the cleaning, babysitting, cooking, many times I did it for my own family... and sometimes I wrote a little.

One day, when I was helping Goodwife Brown with cooking, she started having pains. Once the pains became ten seconds apart, I was sure it was her time. Tenten started panicking, and everyone seemed to be looking at the woman screaming in agony on the ground. Chouji, the Akimichi boy, had nailed a blanket to the ceiling creating a wall for privacy. I thanked him and told him to go summon the woman that had The Skill.

For now, it was all up to me. I did the best I could, getting clean rags and hot water, telling Goodwife Brown how to breathe until the midwife came. I knew I hadn't done very much, but when the midwife came she said that if I hadn't done what I had done that both Goodwife Brown and her baby would have died.

Goodwife Brown had a baby girl. Her name is Hinako.

After that day, Tenten always looked at me with respect and admiration. She told me that she didn't know what she would have done had I not been there, had her mother actually died... she wouldn't have been able to bear it. 

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That's how I met Tenten. She is probably the only girl, other than Hanabi, that I don't hate on this ship. She makes life without those "one-track mind foul-mouthed dirty sailors" much, much better. She's even taught me some fighting moves! Except... I really don't know if I learned them right.

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Every night since that night I have prayed for our safe arrival, and to get there soon. They days were cold and harsh, food was scarce and illness was plentiful. It felt like it had been years, not months, since we had left England.

A couple of weeks after the birth of Hinako, I was finally allowed to go above deck again! I rejoiced like there was no tomorrow.

When I stepped out, it was even better than I had remembered! The smells, the sights, the very taste of the air was intensified a thousand times better than before.

As I stood, leaning over the railing so far I rivaled Naruto, I heard a voice shouting loud and clear. It's words striked fear in my heart and overwhelmed me with joy...

_"Land ho!"_

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**AnimeCrasherz:** So it's not very eventful... bear with me please. They reached land, huzzah! -waves little land-ho flag-

Ok, so maybe we're taking a little break from Sasuke. It's just hate rushing into pairings, especially SasuHina. Patience, my readers!

And... uh... I don't know if introducing Tenten to the readers and Hinata and making Hinata become friends with Tentens is... good... I don't know.

_**REVIEW PLEASE!**_


	5. Forest

**AnimeCrasherz: **Capitulo Cinco. Enjoy.

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**Chapter 5, Forest**

Everybody was relieved to get off the ship. Some were almost ecstatic- the sea breeze, the beautiful forests lining the clean coastline- we were here!

As we got off, I quickly surveyed the crowds. My heart was heavy with a deep pain and longing, I hadn't seen Naruto, Sasuke, Kiba or Shikamaru since that last day I greeted them. Now, I wouldn't even have a chance to say goodbye. I knew in the back of my mind that I would never be able to see them again. They were gone, their lives swallowed up by their love of sailing... they were memories that I would always cherish. At least... at least Sasuke would be in America. Would I get to see him again?

I spotted Ino, Sakura and a few more of their friends wearing pretty, lacy dresses. Their clothes were completely wrinkled and smelled of mothballs -they didn't know Tente's mother Goodwife Brown's trick of putting herbs in between folded clothes. But nonetheless, they stood around giggling and looking pretty, wearing the most revealing clothes I had ever seen.

I noticed that we were the only ones just standing around idly, most everyone else either stood overwhelmed or crying, or hugging family already here in the New World, now reunited.

Where would we be staying now? What would we do? I looked up at my father and with frightened curiousity. He had a serious expression on his face... I guess I was safe then, at least he didn't look confused of hesitant. Maybe he knew already where we would be staying ? Father IS a smart man.

We stuck with Goody Brown's family (Goody Brown equals Mrs. Brown equals Tenten's Mommy. I learned that pilgrims called men's wives "Goody" and then their surname.) hugging our luggage close as if it was our only means of protection. The head preacher was reciting a prayer in thanks to God for our safe arrival, and I clutched my messenger bag as I listened absently, keeping my eyes on the shifting crowds.

I guess I must have zoned out, because I was surprised by the sudden shrill sound of Hanabi shouting my name. Father was a couple yards off, walking without saying a word to us, just expecting us to follow. He was walking with the crowd, they were headed all in the same direction.

So I followed Father, slightly reassured that at least HE knew what we were doing.

Much to my shock at how dumb I had been, everyone was headed in the same direction towards the same city. We would camp there for a night, in a shelter, then half of us would head into the forest to a city not-so-deep down the road. My family belonged to the half that would venture into the dark forest- Heaven Help us.

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A/N: Soz... I don't feel like writing about the shelter. They ate, they slept, they bathed... yeah. Hinata was mostly too tired to think/do/say anything. Let's say her Father got drunk, and Hanabi did too, Sasuke was raped by a lonely old woman... yeah. See? Nothing happened.

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What else can I say about the beautiful forest except, Holy Mother of God.

It was _dark_. I mean **_DARK_**. Like, punch-you-in-the-face-jack-you-up-with-my-toothpaste-bitch dark.

At first, the forest was beautiful and peaceful. The earthen colors and smells were calming accompanied by a slight breeze sighing throught the immensely tall greenery. Birds flitted about above us, almost following us in an array of vivid colors.

But, the deeper we walked on, the forest became denser. Sunlight was restricted to the little gaps of sky showing in between the thick canopy of leaves. The forest became almost like a prison, thick trunks densely surrouding us threatening with whatever lay behind them, and the roof of entangled branches above us. Without the sky showing, there was no sunlight, no warmth... nothing moved. There was no wind.

Had I been alone in that forest, I would have died, petrified from fright.

Children played along on the path, running and skipping all around us. It was very very cute how carefree they were, and their smiles brightened the mood up a bit. Everybody talked merrily, our voices echoing, then being swallowed up by the forest. Such a large, happy group.

I just followed, slightly smiling, content with watching everyone else enjoy themselves. We walked for hours and hours on end, until it became way too dark, and we set camp.

Our camping site was large and loud, our fires flickering and reflecting the tired, relieved faces of the pilgrims. The Indian Guides' fire glowed off a couple yards away from us, but due to the thick forest only a small, weak glowing red spot was visible.

I went to sleep early, tired as all of the others were. We would be in the forest for a _long_ while.

* * *

**AnimeCrasherz:** I really didn't feel like writing this story for a while... and I put it off cuz if I wrote it without my heart being into it, then it would suck ass. But, I finally got the inspiration I needed!

I'm s'posed to use my ANGST to write, but I've been so depressed since school started and somehow it makes me NOT want to write. But... I bought this badminton game thing, and I played for hours and hours with my friends, and since I can't do anything else (playing badminton for hours makes you tired as hell, trust me) I am very happy and I felt like writing.

So I hoped you liked it, rushed and short as it may be, I just wanted to make sure you guys didn't lose faith in this story... -sniff-.

**REVIEW! REVIEW OR I WILL CHASE YOU WITH MY OLD LADY WALKING CANE!**


	6. Unexpected

**AnimeCrasherz:** Sorry the last chapter was really really short. I felt guilty for not posting, and I wanted to post SOMETHING. But I tried to make this one longer.

And those of you who are waiting for Sasuke already... me sorry, he will be here soon. : )

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**Chapter 6, Unexpected**

I awoke to complete, undisurbed silence. Being the morning person that I was, I had risen before all of the other travelers. Expect maybe the Indian guides, I was the only alert being in the campground.

Yawning, I sat up and wriggled slightly out of the tangled blankets, immediately regretting it. The darkness of the forest made it seem almost like night, but I knew it was about the time of the morning when the icy-blue sky reflected the biting temperatures that sent shocks through me, for I was still warm from body heat and blankets.

I glanced around, trying to remember the names and faces of the sleeping bodies surrounding me. There was Father and Hanabi sleeping next to me, Father looking as if he was a dead body in a coffin, and sister curled up in an abundance of stolen blankets.

Leaning back onto the ground, I crossed my arms over my stomach and stared up into the canopy of leaves, trying to fall asleep agian. But my stressful thoughts and worries prevented me from closing my eyes in peace.

I realize, I still miss Sasuke and the others...

About the time everyone else I awoke, I stood up- and realized just how sore I was. My muscles felt like they were mashed into painful, gory pieces... Many others came to this frightening realization too, their pain revealed by the grimaces plastered on their faces. After much complaining from the children, we trodded on in our large procession.

We had to make do with only a couple of wagons and oxen; they would only slow us down, anyways. Everyone was forced to walk, everyone except the few with life-threatening illnesses or injuries that got to rest on the wagons.

And you know who I got stuck walking with? A blonde and a... _pink-haired_ girl. I tried to hide my face, turning away as if that would make me invisible to their mockery. But, no, they see what they want to see.

First, they tried to trip me. They masked their actions with innocent smilings dripping with false diabetic sweetness until they succedeed. Then, in helping me up, they make some sarcastic cracks and remarks about me, then about me and sailors.

But... what could I do?

I really want to get to that village now.

* * *

And I thought the ship was hell... how much more of this did I have to endure? At least then I had friends! 

Tenten would probably be the only friend I have now... but she's always helping her mother with Hinako. (I still feel proud whenever I hear that name...) It's hard to be alone here. The forest itself is like a never ending cage. Imagine crawling through a tunnel that pushes down on your shoulders and up on your stomach so that you have to shimmy through, and imagine that it was pitch black, with no end in sight...

But we often spoke of the beautiful city, it was named after and described to be a kingdom from heaven, with gates laden with jewels and rays of sunlight warming the golden towers.

After I had lost count of the days we had traveled, the trees began to thin just the tiniest bit. Sunlight began seeping through as it was in the beginning. The progress was short, small and gradual, but apparent. We were close. A day after that, another night morning and afternoon, we saw it.We were standing on a hill, the sky mostly exposed. What we saw made the preacher and the people sink to their knees in prayer.

A thin, dark gray wisp of puffy smoke broke an evident line through the blue sky. As I too sunk down to the ground in exhaustion, the preacher's words reached my ears.

"With gates laden with jewels... and rays of sunlight warming the golden towers and buildings of this promise land... we are here... the Kingdom of Heaven... "

And I saw it, the golden glare of the sunrays reflecting off of the million jewels blinded me for a sheer split second before I sank down completely and fainted.

* * *

"Hinata! Hinata, I... Hinata?" the voice of a woman... 

I shifted a little bit, surprised to find I was lying down. I sat up, and cracked my eyes open. There was a bright, almost fluorescent light, and I shut my eyes and looked down immediately.

The light was surprisingly warm. I felt like I was out in the sun. Rubbing my bare arms, I gasped. The forest was so cold, I remember having on a thick dress... Breathing heavily, I grasped a handful of the cloth covering my legs and torso. It felt so soft and weightless, it might have belonged to an angel.

"Hinata, dear? Are you okay?" a warm hand squeezed my shoulder, reminding me of a light kitten's little paw.

Slowly, caution and fear causing my eyes to go wide, I turned around. My hands trembled, still grasping the soft clothing...

"M-Mom...?" The word stumbled out of my mouth and a lump like swallowed ice formed in my throat. The image of a still young, fair-complexioned, beautiful woman smiled at me with a light that could blind my poor mortal eyes. Mother had died a young woman, if she had become an angel, could it be?

Her pale image began to flicker and fade, like in an old movie. "Hinata, when you're ready, I'll be waiting..." she stood up slowly, the hem of her pinkish white dress brushed against my cheek like flower petals. Her dress was pastel, like the inside of a shell, but there was white behind her... Were those feathers?

"B-but mom..." I made a wild grab for her dress again, only to have a bunch of it slip through my fingers. "Mom!" Shrieking her name, I got up and ran.

Mother, now just a speck of pale pink and wings, was flying towards a bright orb of luminescence. I ran towards her desperately, forgetting everything but that smile...

Suddenly, I stumbled on something large jutting out from the filthy ground I was now chained to. Another voiced called out to me again, this time from the sky. It seemed to come and go with the wind, getting louder and louder...

"**HINATA! Hinata, whatever you do, _STAY AWAY FROM THE LIGHT_!"**

I opened my eyes again, but this time there was no light. What I saw was Tenten, sitting down on my stomach and grabbing my collar, pulling my head up off of the bumpy oxen wagon I was lying on.

"Hinata, are you okay now? Does anything hurt, did I break anything?" she let go of my collar, happy that I was awake and realizing she didn't need to pull on it anymore.

"What am I doing on an oxen wagon?" I asked, rubbing the bump on my head that I must have gotten when I fainted.

"What do you mean? You passed out on us, you had me worried sick!" she almost shouted.

"O-oh..." well, at least I was in my pilgrim clothes again. That dream... it made my heart heavy with a strange feeling of... need? "Oh, that reminds me! Tenten, are we at the village yet?"

My eagerness caused her expression to falter a bit into disapointment. "Actually Hinata... I have bad news. It's still a few days before we get to the village."

"Yeah, and now that you're awake you'll have to walk again." Hanabi piped in from alongside the wagon.

I sighed, and jumped back down onto the dirty trail whose texture I long-since memorized. Even with the village in sight, it's still going to be a long, grueling trip.

* * *

**AnimeCrasherz:** The village isn't named "Kingdom of Heaven" exactly... couldn't think of a better name to call it instead of the original name in Witch Child, "Beulah", and so... I need to think of a real name... And now Hinata has had a weird dream with her mother in it... she almost died, poor little pilgrim girl. 

I somehow think this chapter didn't come out very good... I guess the dream came out okay, but I think the writing might be a bit choppy.

**Please, REVIEW! Or I will sic my small, fluffy dog on you... **


	7. SPRUNG!

**Sykoe:** I'm so so freakin sorry it's been so long! I lost my inspiration for a while... sorry...

I got ideas! (Good news?)

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**Since it's been so long; a recap of last chapter:** Hinata and friends (woot) are travelling through the forest, and it's hell. When they are in sight of the city, the entire band of travelers falls to their knees, or stands gaping in wonder. Hinata faints. She dreams about her mother in the form of an angel, and tries to reach out to her. Her efforts in vain, Hinata wakes up to Tenten shaking her awake. And so, the traveling continues, but not without daydreams and some thoughts from a sailor... 

Enjoy!

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**Chapter 7, SPRUNG!**

As we passed more and more trees, I became distracted. There wasn't much new to look at; the forest was pure green, suffocating darkness. Why focus on it? My mind unintentionally wandered to other thoughts, and those thoughts soon formed fantasies...

I imagined myself sailing. Alongside of me stood four surly sailors; Chouji, Shikamaru, Sasuke, and Naruto.

I couldn't have been happier. Every smile from them melted me into a puddle of Hinata Hyuuga. (Especially Naruto's and Sasuke's.) The wind whipped my hair, and the ocean spray moistened my arms and face. My clothes was speckled dark with saltwater.

Blue skies and waters surrounded me, blue eyes and dark blue hair and blue blue blue...

I couldn't have been happier. I let myself be absorbed by the times I remembered, and let every remembered moment bring a small smile to my lips and make my stomach do somersaults.

How much I missed them.

* * *

"Oi, get the lead outta yer pants, boy, and get yer ass back to work!" 

"Yeah, get off your ass and help us out here."

"What's with you lately, Sasuke?"

"Thinking of someone?"

I looked up into the teasing grins of my shipmates, and the burning glare of my captain. I was surrounded by stares.

Guess I chose a pretty bad time to daydream. But, how can I help it? Her face haunts me. I'd never met a girl like her before. She was beautiful, of course, but that's not what made her different. A lot of pretty girls have flirted with me before, shamelessly flaunting their bodies and trying to use feminine "charm" to win me over, but it never had any effect. This pilgrim girl was... different. Actually, she didn't even try to flirt.

Either way, she stole my heart and my mind and now she fills them both with images and needs and sometimes there's nothing I else I can do but let myself get carried away into my thoughts and forget what I'm doing, much to the annoyance of captain and my fellow sailors.

I've never felt this before. I'm not sure if I enjoy it, or it's just another bother.

I knew, though, from the day I first met her, that nothing could ever happen. We came from and were on our way to different worlds. I traveled around the world, buying and trading and making money. She lived in one place, a place my ship rarely visited. Hopes of me even_ seeing_ her again were crushed before they were brought to the surface of my mind.

Besides, there was always the possibility that she didn't make it... no matter how much it saddened me, that was usually the thought that brought me out of my dazed stupor. I was a sailor, damnit, I shouldn't spend my time wallowing in my self-pity and infatuation over a simple pilgrim girl! Made me feel like a pansy.

Made my mates call me a pansy.

Accidentaly pulling the rope I was tying too hard, I had to redo the knot again. Pulling the knot as hard as I could, my foot slipped on some water and I landed on my tailbone.

Hearty laughter reached my ears, and when Chouji offered his hand to help me up, I smacked it away.

The world was out to piss me off today. Stupid ship. Stupid rope. Stupid water.

Stupid girl. Why did she have to stick in my mind every minute of the day?

* * *

**Sykoe:** Aw, they're SPRUNG over each other! XD I had to do it. I freaken had to, it's so cute. 

Sorry the chapter is short. I wanted to put more of Hinata and Sasuke's thoughts in the story before anything else progressed.

Please review! Review more and I write more!


	8. Empty Piece

**Sykoe: **Finally, after deliberating over my other stories for a while... I'm back to "New World"!

You poor, poor readers... starved of pirate-Sasuke/Hinata goodness..

Well, there IS a special reason that I'm updating, too: I lost a bet... so now I have to update every single one of my unfinished stories!!!

... all four of them. Within the span of 3 weeks. Do you know how bad that is for me? Procrastination is in my blood! But you people that read my stories will enjoy it, right? My toiling over a hot laptop will not be in vain :D

Enjoy!

**

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**

**Chapter 8, Empty Piece**

No matter how many hugs and kisses you give, or how many times you repeat yourself, it's never enough. Because when you miss somebody, you can never fill that little void that opens up in your heart, and doesn't close until you have them in your sight again, to be able to touch and smell and feel them in your heart once more.

That's exactly how Hinata felt as she trudged through the forest, picking herbs and inspecting new plants that were only found in this strange new continent. Her heart was heavy with the memories of the beginning of her voyage, but she had to pick medicines for her sickly fellow villagers.

But with eyes clouded over by emotions, you can only go so far until you end up picking something wrong. Something that burns your skin to the touch with an itch that doesn't alleviate until your arm looks like the face of an acne-infested teenager."D-darn rash... DARN PLANTS! WHY DON'T YOU SHUT UP!" Hinata shouted at the red spots on her wrists and the dried plants on her lap and in her basket. She was rubbing on some lotion to cool the burning sting, but what was the point...

Her mind always wandered, to different places and times, but there was one person to which it wandered to the most.

She didn't know why her mind was so obsessed with... with that _person. _Maybe living life on the continent made her more lonely than she thought. Being the only girl her age, aside from Tenten - who was always taking care of her mother and siblings anyway- Hinata was alone in her village.

She passed away her time exploring the forest, though it was frowned upon by many villagers.Who knows what a young girl could be doing in there? All women had the potential of witchcraft.

So, she snuck out. Lord, if anyone knew what she was really doing when she was supposed to be "gathering herbs" or "helping with housework"... she would be hanged, burned, or worse... this was a new city, new laws, and new torture methods. She did not want to think about it.

Nobody must know she left into the forests. Whenever she snuck out, Hinata made sure nobody from the village followed her.

But that didn't mean she was alone.

"This is hell. This is really hell." she mumbled to herself, stumbling over tall grasses and raised tree roots. "I don't fit in anywhere... none of the village girls will accept me, and all of the villagers look down on me as some strange girl that doens't quite really know her place. I'm too shy to socialize with anyone, so I have to spend my time going to this forest, but I can't even ennjoy THAT! I have to do it SECRETLY! God, sometimes I wish I could just die... or maybe jump into an ocean. Maybe then I'd be able to at least see Sasuke again, even if I was drowned. I'd attach my spirit to my body somehow, damnit."

Sometimes, Hinata just wanted a reason to STAY in the forest.

"Hey..."

Hinata froze in her tracks. Voices. If they were from the village... she would be discovered! She could be hanged, tortured, or worse!!

And if they weren't from the village... they could be savages! Rapists! Murderers! Hunters!

She frantically searched for a place to hide. Usually a great protecting place where she felt alone and isolated, the forest now exposed her more than ever.

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**Sykoe:** EEE!! Yes, 2 down, 2 to go!!! 

Oh my dear forsaken stories and abandoned readers; alas, I have not left you to rot! Hopefully, this hopeful chapter brings hope to the hopeless.

REVIEW! I am so ecstatic for updating this... inspirational. I'll write more, now review more. :D


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